Guyana & Others on Women, Peace & Security in Afghanistan | UN Security Council

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Published Jun 29, 2024

Joint media stakeout delivered by Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for February 2024, on behalf of the Signatories of the Shared Commitments to the Principles of Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) — Ecuador, France, Japan, Malta, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and Guyana — on the situation of women in Afghanistan.

Ahead of today’s (26 Feb) Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, the Women, Peace, and Security Shared Commitments Group stated that Sustainable peace, stability, and development in the country “can only be achieved if there is an inclusive political process underpinned by respect for the rule of law and the human rights of all Afghan people.”

Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, President of the Security Council, read a statement on the situation in Afghanistan on behalf of the Women, Peace, and Security Shared Commitments Group, and said, “We strongly condemn the Taliban's continued systemic gender discrimination and oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan, and demand that the Taliban immediately rescind all policies and decrease that repressed women and girls, including restrictions on education at secondary and tertiary levels, women's right to work, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression.”

She continued, “Women and girls must have full exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in public, political, economic, cultural, and social life. We reaffirm the indispensable role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in peacebuilding, and in humanitarian response and emphasize that women's equal partnership in the development economy and political processes in Afghanistan is critical to progress.”

She also said, “Afghanistan's international obligations must be respected. There must be accountability for human rights abuses and crimes against women and girls. harsh winter conditions and natural disasters are compounding the already dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. We call on the Taliban to ensure that women are part of the needs assessments, planning, and delivery of humanitarian aid, recognizing that their absence is having negative impacts on such aid, reaching women, children, and older persons.”

The eleven Security Council signatories of the Statement of Shared Commitments for the principles of Women, Peace, and Security are Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.